SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNECE REGION

SECOND REGIONAL IMPLEMENTATION FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Palais des Nations, Geneva (Salle XX)
1500 Hours, Thursday, 15 January to 17:30 Friday, 16 January 2005

At its eleventh session, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) decided that its multi-year programme of work beyond 2003 would be organized on the basis of two-year implementation cycles , with each cycle focusing on selected thematic clusters of issues.

Each 'implementation cycle' would consist of a review year and a policy year. In the review year, the Commission would evaluate progress made in implementing sustainable development goals and identifying obstacles and constraints, while in the policy year it would decide on measures to speed up implementation and mobilize action to overcome these obstacles and constraints.

The Commission furthermore invited the regional commissions to organize regional implementation meetings in order to provide regional inputs for the work of the Commission, preferably before the review sessions. The Economic Commission for Europe held the first Regional Implementation Forum on Sustainable Development on 15 and 16 January 2004, as a contribution to the twelfth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

For the first two-year cycle (2004-2005), the CSD focused on water, sanitation and human settlements. During its second two-year cycle (2006-2007), the Commission on Sustainable Development will focus on energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change. Thus, at its fourteenth session, scheduled for 1 - 12 May 2006, the Commission on Sustainable Development will review the progress achieved in the implementation in these thematic areas.

In line with the above, the Economic Commission for Europe at its sixtieth Session, in February 2005, decided to hold the second Regional Implementation Forum to provide substantial inputs for the review year and contribute to the fourteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

The issue of partnerships and the way they relate to each theme is part of the review of implementation. As decided by the Commission, the second Regional Implementation Forum will explicitly integrate the issue of partnerships in all sessions as appropriate. In addition, an informal lunchtime showcase of partnerships (a series of 10-15 minute presentations) will be held to highlight successes of and ongoing challenges facing partnerships.

The documents for the Forum and information on participation may be found by clicking on the menu to the left.